6 suspects slapped with gun, ammo possession charges

Botched robbery
…1 jailed for 8 years, fined $800,000

The six men who were reportedly found with a quantity of firearm and ammunition while travelling in a stolen car, after allegedly attempting to commit a robbery a week ago at Supply, East Bank Demerara (EBD) were on Tuesday arraigned at the Providence Magistrate’s Court.

Mark Prince, 39, a taxi driver of Parfaite Harmonie, WBD; Nabadingi Gobin, 24, of Georgetown; Leonard Khan, 31, a fish vendor of Albouystown, Georgetown; Edward Skeete, 30, of Albouystown; Marvin Blackman, 27, a fish vendor of South Ruimveldt and Steve Hercules appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce.
The men, with the exception of Hercules, all denied the 10 charges that were read to them.
According to the prosecution’s case, on April 10, 2018, while in the vicinity of Grove, EBD, the men had in their possession six live .32 ammunition, 11 rounds of 9mm ammunition, two 9mm black pistols, and a .32 black Taurus pistol.
Another charge stated that the men attempted to commit a felony on April 10, 2018.
The prosecution applied for the case to be tried at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
This application was granted by Magistrate Scarce.
The prosecution also objected to bail on the grounds that the men were all known characters to the Police.
As such, Gobin, Khan, Skeete, Blackman and Prince were remanded to prison until May 10, 2018.
Hercules was additionally charged with fraudulent conversion of a vehicle’s identification mark.
It was alleged that on April 10, 2018, at Grove, EBD, he changed the identification plates of a grey Premio motor car registered as PVV 6204 to HC 4543.
Hercules admitted to nine of the ten charges and told the court that a customer of his offered him $50,000 to transport the vehicle on April 10, 2018, to Georgetown from Soesdyke, EBD.
Hercules said prior to him delivering the vehicle, he was told of its contents, but still agreed to transport it.
He explained that on his way to the city, he collected the five men. The men, he argued, did not know about the gun and ammunition.
“While I was coming down, I decided to pick up couple passengers to cover me while I was coming down from there,” he told the court.
Hercules was sentenced to an $800,000 fine and eight years in prison.
The six accused were nabbed after they reportedly attempted to rob a Supply poultry farmer, Michael Chang Yuen.
Four of the men reportedly entered the man’s yard and an alarm was raised. The men subsequently quickly returned to the waiting motor car, which was parked some distance away, and fled the scene.
However, the Police were alerted, and a roadblock was set up in the vicinity of the Grove Public Road, which saw the four men, along with two others in the same car, being captured.
A search carried out on the motor car unearthed, in addition to the weapons and ammunition, one sledgehammer, two pairs of latex gloves, and trade plates.